Saturday, April 05, 2014

South Carolina legislators declare war on state colleges over gay issues

The University of South Carolina Upstate could have its budget cut
again for another gay-themed program on the Spartanburg campus.

The
school is hosting a symposium on gay topics that at one point included a
lecture titled, “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less.” The event
comes a month after the House of Representatives cut $17,142 from USC
Upstate’s budget for assigning freshmen to read an essay book on coming
out gay in the South.

At least three state senators said Friday
they are upset about USC Upstate’s gay-themed programming. They vow to
not only keep the House’s cut but also slash more from the school’s
budget next year.

That's danger with some people. They tend to talk before they know all of the facts . . . or even after they are aware of all of the facts. The State also says:

USC Upstate’s Bodies of Knowledge Symposium, slated for next Thursday
and Friday, focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other
sexual orientation issues and has stirred a typically conservative
section of the state.

The college – which hosts a national
conference on child abuse and an undergraduate research symposium
highlighting students’ work – did not intend to stir controversy with
the symposium, school officials said.

The theme is “an optional
opportunity (for students) to explore some of these topics which they
probably would not get to in a class or in another type of organized
workshop,” Toth said.

Much of the outcry was over the planned
performance by Leigh Hendrix of “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or
less,” a comical story about coming out as gay.

But some people took it as an instructive performance, instead of a comedy, USC Upstate spokeswoman Tammy Whaley said.

This nonsense is the latest salvo against state universities by SC legislators over lgbt issues. Recently, the House took away $70,000 collectively from the College of
Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate. The amount adds
up to the how much the two colleges spent on the gay-themed books. The legislators claimed that the books, Fun Home and Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio doesn't represent SC community value and were pornographic.

But there is something else in particular you should know about the latest attack on the University of South Carolina Upstate. One of the main legislators running to the press voicing so-called outrage about this and issuing threats is Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg. He is also running for the U.S. Senate in a primary against Sen. Lindsey Graham. I guess Obamacare is out as a hot button issue for Bright, seeing that Graham just unveiled his "I'm going to stop Obamacare commercial." As nauseating as it is, it certainly beats the "I tried to find out the truth in Benghazi" commercials Sen. Graham was running.

So obviously with no other recourse, Bright seems to be going for the time-honored tradition of attacking the lgbt community in an election year. I think I liked him better when he was raffling off an AR-15 as a part of his campaign.

How nice it is that, in spite of all of the changes going on with regards to the acceptance of the lgbt community, there is still a place in this country where legislators seeking public office can still use us as scapegoats. I guess to Bright it definitely beats voicing concern over genuine issues.

A good friend of mine put it best:

"Election year. Yep, time to censor books, attack gay people, and foam at the mouth."

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 45-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.